Saving money on your expenses allows you to save money in general -- $1000 you aren't putting down for rent or mortgage can be $1000 towards improving your current property or putting towards a building fund for the next property.The negative cash flow is something to look at -- personally if I were doing this I'd like to keep my dollars in per month as low (preferably neutral) as possible.

You'll also want to make sure the home is "neutral" so that it appeals to a wide range of tenants.

He chose some neutral colors.

For paint, I use a neutral grey ("revere pewter" is the official shade name) for all the walls, white for trim and ceilings, and off-white for kitchen cabinets. 

Our Los Angeles property would need a GRM of, say, 16 to be cashflow neutral.

depending on the property and down payment, I am fine being initially negative or neutral cashflow in my market but in other markets that might not make sense if it doesn't have strong historic appreciation of value and rent.Hope that helps.

so i would definitely neutralize 

We do allow tenants to paint with the uunderstanding that it must be returned to my neutral paint scheme when they move out, all at the tenants

Months Supply: Where 6 months is considered a market neutral figure between buyers and sellers, we had a paltry 1.8 months, tipping the balance heavily in favor of sellers.S and P Case-Schiller Index for Boston region showed flat again.

Stay neutral and don't get emotional at all.